Before she can answer, Chloe runs into the room, bypassing her mommy and barreling into my legs. Without skipping a beat, I bend, lifting her into my arms. She peppers my face with slobbery toddler kisses before rubbing her cheek up against mine. My girl’s a sucker for stubble—just like her mother.
Speaking of, I turn my attention back to my wife.
Charlie doesn’t answer me. She’s just staring at Chloe snuggling up to my neck—exactly why the tie was a no-go. Our four-year-old has the strength of both her parents. Like a kitten, one of her favorite things to do is tug on anything dangling, including and especially Daddy’s ties.
“Charlie? Sweetheart?”
Her brown eyes soften, and I know that look. It’s a look I’ve seen often since Cade and Chloe turned three. If Charlie had her way, we’d have a brood big enough to form our own baseball team.
“Who’d have thought you of all people would be putty to a little girl?” she breathes.
“You. Maybe Wade. Considering I was putty the second you called me an arrogant asshole.”
Charlie’s eyes widen, but it’s too late.
Chloe’s a parrot. “What’s an asshole?”
Though my wife pretends to glare at me, the way her shoulders shake tells me she’s trying to hide her laughter just the way I am.
I bring Chloe’s eyes directly to mine. “Nothing we can say around Gramma, okay?”
“’Kay.” She squeals when I give her belly a tickle and place a kiss on her nose.
“Where’s your brother?” I ask.
“On the potty.”
“Of course he is.” I set her down on the ground. “Go grab your shoes. It’s time to go to Gramma and Grampa’s. Ready to go play with your cousins?”
Her laughter echoes through the hall as she races towards her bedroom. Charlie grins at me.
“Why are you looking at me like that? She’s all you, sweetheart.”
“Knox, that girl may have my dark hair and eyes, but she got her stubborn streak from you.”
“You’re joking, right? You’re the stubborn one out of the two of us.”
I’m teasing. We’re both stubborn as hell. I’m just a little more so than my wife. Still, it’s fun to rile the woman up.
She finishes clasping her earring and turns to me, her hands impatiently settling on her hips. “Me? You’re the one who took five hundred years to kiss me for the first time.”
“You’re the one who wouldn’t tell me you wanted to kiss me.”
“Yeah, well, you’re the one who wouldn’t have sex with me when I was pregnant with the twins, even though the doctor said it was fine.”
I cross the room, placing my hands on Charlie’s cheeks as soon as I’m near enough. “You win. She gets it from both of us, but mostly me. Except that last one? Fairly sure that was out of terror, not stubbornness.”
“And I was stubborn enough to make you see the error of your ways.”
“Sweetheart, I just got my cock deflated. Do you have to go putting those images in my head?”
She smiles apologetically, though she’s not sorry in the slightest. “I love you, you know?”
“Love you more.”
“Love you most,” she says with a tease. Then she wiggles away from me.
I roll my eyes. “She gets it from you.”
Charlie erupts into a fit of giggles. Then she stands at the edge of the bed, her eyes softening. “As for your earlier question, yeah, I’m all for it. I think it’s a great idea.”
Fuck, every time I think I can’t love this woman more, she proves me wrong.
“I want you to be absolutely on board with this decision,” I say. “You’re the only reason my family’s whole again, Charlie. I can’t imagine a better way to honor my father than with this, but only if you’re one hundred percent sure.”
“Hey, don’t sell yourself short. You’re the one who took the step. I just gave you a little nudge. Not to mention, we never would’ve met if Cohen hadn’t gotten involved. He deserves some credit, too.”
“Never been so grateful for prying little asshole brothers.”
Charlie grins. “I’ll make sure to tell him you said that. And yes, Knox. I think it’s amazing what you suggested.”
“Then it’s settled?”
“It’s settled.”
It takes everything in me not to scoop her up, toss her onto the bed, and show her my endless gratitude. Since I already told my little brown-haired spitfire she’s about to have fun with her cousins, it’s only a matter of time before she bursts back into the room.
“If I’d have known getting blown up by an IED would bring you into my life, I’d have done it the first day I got to Afghanistan.”
She playfully pushes my shoulder then gazes up at me. “I’m glad it brought us together, but can you not put those images in my mind? If anything ever happened to you…” she trails off.
“Don’t think about that. Five years and I’m out. And things have died down over there, so I’ll probably be spending these five years training here. Hell, now that I’ve ranked up, I’m buried under paperwork anyway. I haven’t seen the field in months.”
“And it’s killing you.”
I contemplate it for a moment. “No, sweetheart. There was a time when I thought I’d never want to sit behind a desk. I wanted action, a fast pace, the danger. But that was before I had something to live for. Now I have you, the twins, and my family. If doing paperwork all day brings me home to you every night, then it’s the perfect job for me.”
Charlie uses a finger to wipe the corner of her eyes. “You are the best man I’ve ever known.”
I grin down at my gorgeous wife. “Pretty sure Wade might have something to say about that.”
She loops her arms around my neck, her whisky eyes staring up at me. “Dad knows when he gave you my hand, he was also giving up that first-place position. But he’s a really, really close second.”
It’s been two months since Dad came home from the hospital. Mom’s driving him crazy with healthy meals, ensuring he goes on walks every day and is getting the proper amount of sleep—according to her. She hasn’t let him step foot in the office. According to Branson, he’s fielding about twelve calls a day. Dad’s even set up a Skype account to try to catch Bran while at the office. Knowing Dad’s going stir-crazy and driving Branson up a wall, Ariana talked Mom into having a party at the house now that Dad’s been given the all-clear by his doctor to get back to regularly scheduled activity. Of course, Mom had to consult Cohen, who insisted it’s exactly what Dad needs right now. What better medicine than celebrating life with family and friends?
I get Mom’s hesitation. Her husband collapsed at the last family celebration. She’s afraid of history repeating itself. Hell, if the same thing had happened with me and Charlie, my woman wouldn’t be leaving the house for the better part of a year. Then again, knowing Charlie, she’d just sneak out when I wasn’t looking. And then I’d have to spank her.
Hmm. There’s a thought.
Bran nudges my shoulder, bringing me back to the present. “I know that look, bro. You just got here. There’s no way Mom’s letting you haul your wife out of this party so soon after you’ve arrived. Might as well get your mind out of the gutter.”